Easton unsure whether to go after contractor

Updated 11:28 pm, Wednesday, August 21, 2013

EASTON -- Carlson Construction LLC of Bridgeport pledged to pay Easton $200 a day if it didn't finish the town's new animal shelter on time.

It was late -- 951 days late to be exact.

Carlson now owes Easton $190,200 as "liquidated damages" -- the amount the parties agreed in advance that Carlson would pony up if it failed to complete its work.

Meanwhile, First Selectman Tom Herrmann is "unsure" whether the town will demand the money.

The move could lead to litigation, Herrmann said, and he doesn't know whether the town ought to sic its attorneys on the company. The business is owned by Robert Carlson, of Easton, who subcontractors say boasted that he got the project because of his Easton "connections."

Seeking the $190,200 could amount to an expensive legal tab and a protracted court battle, Herrmann said, if it involved Arch Insurance, the company that issued labor, material and performance bonds on behalf of Carlson Construction.

"It might mean that Arch Insurance would have to pay that money to the town, and they could challenge it, which might mean litigation expenses to the town," Herrmann said when first questioned in July about the contract clause.

In response to a query from Hearst Connecticut Newspapers on Wednesday, Herrmann said he is consulting with the town's outside counsel at Berchem, Moses & Devlin, P.C., for its opinion on whether the town should go after the money. As to when he might have an answer, or make up his mind, Herrmann said he was relying on the "advice of counsel" and hadn't given the attorneys any deadline for rendering an opinion.

"You bet I'd go after that money," said Lee Hanson, a member of Easton's Board of Finance. "It's hard to imagine that the first selectman would be so negligent to not go after this vigorously or to be unable to make a decision on his own about this one way or the other."

Still, the clock is ticking for the town. It has about $74,000 remaining in an account earmarked for the shelter, some of which would be due to Carlson Construction if Arch Insurance doesn't claim it first for compensating subcontractors that Carlson either neglected to pay or refused to pay.

Carlson beat eight other challengers for the Easton Animal Shelter project with its $526,984 bid, which was tens of thousands of dollars lower than its closest competitor.

Three members of Easton's Board of Finance contacted by Hearst Connecticut Newspapers said they were surprised to learn about the liquidated damage provision and two of them expressed frustration that Herrmann wouldn't fight for a share of the money.

"That's what leadership is," said Hanson, who like Herrmann, is a Republican. "It seems like our town attorneys act like a fourth selectman."

It was supposed to take Carlson Construction no more than six months to build the 2,440-square-foot pound, which is about the size of a typical, middle-class house.

Another Finance Board member, Andrew Kachele, also a Republican, said the liquidated damage clause was "news" to him, too.

"I have no idea why someone would not recover this money for the town. It's a claim against the contractor," Kachele said. "And our job is to look out for the people of the town of Easton. Why would we willingly put them in last on our list?"